Obsidian Soul
by SummersonMars
Summary: Commission. Twilight Sparkle comes across a mysterious old journal while spending time in the Crystal Castle's library. An amnesic unicorn wanders from town to town trying to recover his identity and memories. The Crystal Heart begins to behave erratically. How are these things connected? The saga of the Crystal Empire is not over yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This story is a commissioned piece for rikika of Deviantart. All credit for the story idea and title goes to him. This story also takes place during season 3.

**Disclaimer: ** _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic _ and all of the things that went into it were created by Lauren Faust and Hasbro. The rest is my doing.

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><p><strong><span>Obsidian Soul<span>**

**Chapter 1**

When most ponies thought of a vacation, they thought of sand and surf and doing things that they normally didn't do in their regular day-to-day routines.

To Twilight Sparkle, a vacation was visiting a library that she had never been in before.

Princess Cadance had invited her and her friends to come stay in the Crystal Empire for the weekend. The princess and Shining Armor had been so busy rebuilding the empire that she hadn't had time to keep in touch with her sister-in-law and former foal-sitting charge. That was just not right, in her mind. But as soon as the girls arrived, the group scattered, spurred on by the different things they wanted to see and do, only to regroup for dinner at the castle.

The Crystal Castle's library wasn't nearly as impressive as the capital's three-story behemoth of a public library, but nevertheless, it had a big enough selection of books to keep Twilight occupied with her impromptu studies. Several walls of 7 mahogany shelves each's worth, in fact. Two hours after Twilight arrived, those shelves were almost picked bare; their contents sitting in piles around a reading desk that Twilight had claimed in the center of the room.

"Ooo, listen to this, Spike: 'Star Swirl the Bearded in particular has collaborated many times with the royal family of the Crystal Empire. The most notable of these collaborations was during its early history, when he developed one of the terraforming spells that were used to help transform and develop the snowy lands surrounding the capital.' I never knew that! Spike, isn't that interesting?"

Her young dragon assistant, practically buried under several piles of discarded books, was too busy deciphering the library's organization system to make those piles go away to pay any attention to what the unicorn was saying. "What? Oh, yeah..." After a moment's thought, he placed one of the books, a dissertation on the medicinal properties of crystal berries, back on a vacant shelf. "Say, Twilight, don't you think you've spent enough time in here? Didn't you come here to spend time with Princess Cadance and everypony else?"

"Cadance said she was busy today. She's seeing Shining Armor off on a mission to the western part of the empire. He said it was some sort of magical disturbance when I asked him about it this morning. They're not quite sure what it is."

"Is that why we're here?"

"Partly, but Cadance told me not to worry about it. This is supposed to be a vacation, and she _is_ the princess of the empire, after all." She smiled. "But you know me, Spike; reading helps me unwind." She scanned the partly empty shelves for a moment before her eyes fell on a red book sitting all by its lonesome on a high shelf, partly covered in shadow by the empty shelf above it. Her horn and the book shined for a moment; a simple levitation spell. But it didn't move. Twilight's brow furrowed as the glow around her horn grew brighter. But the book still wouldn't budge. "Ugh…" She stopped and turned back to the young dragon. "Spike, could you please get that book for me?"

"Sure." Spike dug his way out of the piles of books and climbed the sliding ladder up to the shelf where the stubborn book sat. It was an unremarkable looking book with a plain cover and its title, _A Millennium of Empirical Architecture_, written on its spine in gold lettering. But even after a few manual tugs, the book still wouldn't move. "What the heck? It feels like it's glued to the shelf," he murmured. He stopped and looked it over, wondering what exactly the trick to getting it off the shelf could have been. He ran his claws around the edges of the book, having them eventually stop in the lack of space where the book should have met the crystal wall behind the shelf. "That's weird."

"What's weird, Spike?" At that point, Twilight was curious enough to put her current book down and walk over to investigate.

"This book is connected to the wall." He gave it another tug. Not even a slight flinch. Then, in a fit of desperation, he pressed on its spine.

The book slid effortlessly into the wall, causing it, the shelf, and the ladder to rumble and shake.

"Whoa!" Spike rocked back and forth, flailing his arms in an attempt to stay balanced. Just as one of his legs fell into the air, a purple aura appeared around him, floating him safely to the floor under the guidance of Twilight's magic.

The two watched as the shelf began to swing out from the wall. As it did so, a chunk of the newly revealed crystal wall also slid away, revealing a dark nook of a room. It was only large enough for a single grown pony to stand in, as Twilight quickly learned as she stepped forward to investigate. It had clearly been forgotten by the castle's denizens long ago, as the only things it contained were dust, a few broken wooden shelves, and a well-worn, soft-covered brown book. Whoever had owned it had obviously read it more than a few times; its binding was one careless tug away from coming undone, and part of the front cover had already been torn away, showing the lined paper underneath it. There was no title on the cover, or any other writing on the front of it for that matter.

Twilight slowly levitated the book up to her eyes as her spell's aura gingerly opened its front cover. Its contents were handwritten in black ink. "It's a journal!" she exclaimed, smiling at her discovery. "Who would leave their journal back here?" She trotted back into the library proper as she began to read. "'Guardian's Log: The first day with everypony at their post was successful. No incidents inside or outside of the perimeter or with the object itself occurred. Unless, of course, you count one of the cadets freaking out about a fly on his tail.'" Twilight closed the book and slowly turned it over in its protective magical bubble. "There's no name on it."

"It looks really old. Wouldn't it have been written before King Sombra took over?" Spike asked. "Whoever wrote it is probably long gone by now. And that's assuming that they would want it back. That is a weird place to leave a journal."

"You might be right, Spike. But remember: almost everypony that lives here now was around when he came into power." Twilight floated the book over to the reading desk. "Either way, it sounds really interesting; a piece of the history of the Crystal Empire from a personal point-of-view. I should take notes and show them to Cadance, Shining Armor, and Princess Celestia. And if I can find out who wrote it and give it back to them, that would be even better."

"Twilight! Spike!"

Suddenly, the door to the hallway opened, and Rarity's elegant voice echoed throughout the chamber. "There you are! I should've known that you two would be in here." The fashionable white unicorn trotted up to the two, all smiles. The saddlebags on her sides bulged with their contents. So much so that much of it, including several rolls of sparkling fabric in a rainbow of colors, had escaped the bags' confines and jutted out of the tops of them.

"Oh hi, Rarity," Twilight said. "Are you already done shopping? When did you get back?"

"Just now. We all agreed to meet up for lunch at The Crystal Croissant, remember? Everypony is waiting for you downstairs."

Twilight's heart dropped. "Oh shoot! I've been so wrapped up in my studies that I completely forgot! I'm so sorry!" She lifted up the worn book and placed it in her own saddlebag before slinging it over her back.

"Oh sweetie, it's quite alright. We'll only be a few minutes late. And when we're done, you can go right back to your reading. I haven't found all of the crystal silk that I need yet anyway."

"Uhh, you look like you already have enough stuff to clothe all of Ponyville," Twilight giggled, glancing at her friend's saddlebags as the two began to walk out.

"Oh dear no! This is only half of what I need!" Rarity sighed. "Planning this stallions' line has been such a headache. But it'll be worth it when it's done." Rarity led Twilight out of the library, giving Spike only enough time to hastily organize the discarded books into some straight stacks before running out to join them.

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><p>Miles away from the Crystal Castle, a dark grey stallion woke up, muzzle down, in a snow bank. His brain felt like mush and his body, predictably, felt wet. Like all ponies, his fur protected him from the elements, but he still didn't feel great.<p>

"Ugh…" He lifted his head, slightly unwieldy from an unfamiliar weight on his head, and looked around. It was a clear, sunny day with nothing but glittering, untouched snow for miles, with the exception of a small lake that sat a short walk away from him. Its steaming surface was untouched by ice and its muddy banks were ringed on all sides by tiny bunches of grass and flowers. An odd occurrence, maybe, but he was in no condition to think too hard about such things.

He stood up. His head spun and his legs wobbled in protest before he regained his equilibrium. When the dizziness subsided, he started towards the lake. A splash of water on his face, no matter how cold it might be, would probably do him some good.

The air that hit him when he stepped up to the lake was a lot warmer than he expected. He regarded it only briefly before dipping his head into the cool water and shaking it dry. As the water's surface settled, he was able to get a good look at himself: a solid dark grey coat with a full mane and tail of jet black hair and red eyes. A cutie mark of a black cloud of fog adorned his flank. He bared his teeth as he ran his tongue across them. Normal looking, albeit a little bit dirty. The curved dark grey horn that jutted out from the middle of his forehead had been broken in two, leaving only a bony stump.

_How did I lose that?_ he wondered, glancing up at his broken horn, before his mind realized that it was missing far more vital pieces of information.

_Who am I? How did I get here?_

He shook his head, his mind seemingly beset by a fog cloud similar to the one on his flank. The answers weren't going to come to him on their own. But where could he go to get them answered?

He glanced back in the direction that he had come. Sitting around the depression in the snow where his body had been was several pieces of broken and charred armor. He trotted back over to it, wondering just as much about how it got there as he did.

He bent his head down, thinking to inspect one particular piece that stood out to him: an untouched silver circlet. Slowly, after some minor straining, it became enveloped with a dark blue aura and wobbly levitated up to his eyes. It looked vaguely familiar…

He tried to remember again. Anything. Any little fragment…

_There was darkness…_

_Screaming…_

_"Use the light… assure… Sombra…"_

"Sombra"… That name definitely sounded familiar. Intimate even. That must have been his name. And if it wasn't… Well, he didn't have anything else to go with.

Sombra placed the circlet on his head. The rest of the armor was too broken to be worth wearing. _Well… I'm not going to find anything out just standing around here in the snow. I should try to find the nearest town._ He pondered the near infinite choices in direction that laid before him before deciding to walk west with the noonday sun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_No incidents today._

_Weekly meeting occurred. See meeting notes for more details. No incidents today._

_A couple of curious colts wandered into the perimeter. They were determined to be of no threat and were safely returned to their parents. (Kids these days… Heh.) Outer perimeter security procedures will be reviewed. No other incidents today._

Most of the journal's entries, Twilight learned, were nearly identical to one another. It was obviously some sort of log book for a group of guards, presumably one that was stationed in the Crystal Castle, if the journal's final resting place was any indication. Supporting that theory was the fact that the author rarely provided any personal insight on the events that were documented. As the journal went on, however, the author seemed to slowly open up a little bit more; offering a few small opinions or a joke here and there. Despite the repetition, Twilight found herself wrapped up in the book and before she knew it, the weekend was over and she and her friends were back on the train to Ponyville, with Cadence none the wiser to the old journal that could tell her more about her new kingdom. Shining Armor hadn't returned by the time they left. The fact that he wasn't there to see her off disappointed her, but she figured that with his job as one of the empire's rulers, it couldn't be helped.

Like most of the trip on the way there, Twilight spent her time in the lounge car by herself, with the window curtains drawn, reading. It was during one of those times that she finally hit pay dirt in her research.

_A couple of ponies from the unicorns' guild came to study the heart today. Really nice bunch. I was interviewed a bit about my and the guards' duties and philosophy on its usage. I asked them to provide me with their findings when they were done writing the paper on it. It should be a really interesting read. No other incidents today._

The Crystal Heart! That's what the "object" must have been! It had to have been. What other heart could have needed an entire troop of guards to watch over it? She took a notepad out of her saddlebag and excitedly scribbled down a quick note. Finally, some actual progress! And who knew what other discoveries were waiting to be found in the journal.

Just as she had finished her note, she heard a commotion coming from just behind the door to the next car.

"Come on, Applejack! Please!"

"Sorry, Rarity, but harvest season's comin' up and Big Mac's one of our strongest buckers. We're gonna need him if we wanna finish on time. Besides, didn't you ask him yourself before we left?"

"He said no." Twilight could see Rarity's pout in her mind when she said that. "But I'm running out of options! Nopony answered my job ads! I've asked all of my acquaintances! I even wrote a letter to Gallant Piaffe!"

"Who's Gallant Piaffe?"

"The most famous stallion model in all of Equestria! His manager gave me a 'thanks, but no thanks' and some coupons."

"Sorry, but if Big Mac said no, then he means it. There ain't nothin' I can do to change his mind."

"He can keep the clothes once the show is over! I have a lovely red and tan ensemble in the works that he would look dashing in."

"Sorry…" Applejack slid open the car door and closed it behind her just in time to muffle a sound from Rarity that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a cry of despair. She regarded it for a moment, then turned to Twilight, shaking her head. "I swear, Rarity's losin' her dang mind over that fashion line of hers."

"Well, to be fair, no pony has volunteered to model for her. And there _are_ going to be a bunch of magazine representatives there." Twilight closed the book.

Applejack walked over to her, glancing at the old journal. "What you readin' there? It looks really old."

"Oh, nothing!" Panicking for a moment, she quickly slipped the journal back into her saddlebag. "It's just… something I picked up at an antique store in the Crystal Empire." She giggled. "It's actually kind of boring."

"Oh… Okay…" Applejack didn't look like she quite bought Twilight's story, but immediately changed the subject. "Anyway, I just came in here to tell you that you should probably be gettin' ready to go to bed. It's really late."

"It is?" Twilight reached over with her magic and peeled back the window curtains. The only thing visible in the inky darkness beyond the train was the stars twinkling in the heavens and a thin sliver of moonlight. "Oh… Sorry, I was so wrapped up in the book…"

"That's alright, Twilight. I know how you can get sometimes. Now come on. Let's go get some shut eye." With that, Applejack lead her toward the sleeping car. That was the second time in the span of a few days that the book had monopolized her time. Part of her hoped that, in the end, there would be an even bigger discovery hiding within it and that she wasn't just wasting her time.

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><p><em>I'm so hungry…<em>

Hours (or maybe days) into Sombra's walk, the disheveled unicorn started to wonder if civilization still existed at all in the part of the world he was in. While the mountains in the distance continued to move and change and he occasionally came across small landmarks, he had yet to find even a single fencepost, let alone a house or a town or anything that indicated some form of settlement. And yet, he walked on, stopping only occasionally to drink from a pond, eat the tiny bits of wild fruit and vegetables that he came across, and, in one instance, conjure up a protective shield around himself once the idea popped into his head. The only other option would have been to lie down and wait for someone, which could hardly be called an option at all.

What's more, he got a small, nagging feeling of dread whenever he thought about finding a town and interacting with its inhabitants. Some strange notion that, no matter how friendly he was, they wouldn't accept him. Tried as he might to shake it off and assure himself that he was probably worrying over nothing, the feeling still persisted.

Had he done something bad to somepony? The vision that allowed him to recall his name wasn't exactly a pleasant one, and the voice didn't sound at all friendly.

It had already grown dark when, in his distracted, worrying haze, he nearly tripped over a large, furry object. It moaned softly when his front hooves bumped into it, but it didn't move.

"Huh?" Sombra looked down. His broken horn sputtered and sparked for a moment, then glowed with a simple light spell.

The other unicorn stallion looked to be on the verge of death. His white fur and three-toned blue mane and tail were drenched by the snow, and his dark grey cloak and saddlebags clung to his body. His eyes were shut and his mouth hung open lifelessly.

Sombra gently pressed his leg against the unicorn's neck. His pulse was faint, but it was there. As he looked closer, he noticed weak puffs of steam coming from his mouth. He was still alive, but just barely. If he left him out in the cold, he would surely die.

_But I'm barely keeping myself alive as it is,_ he thought. Taking the poor stallion with him would surely slow him down, and he was barely finding enough food for himself. The effort might even be enough to kill the both of them.

But still, to leave him there would have just been downright cruel. Anypony with a heart could see what the right decision was. _And if I leave him here, I don't think I would be able to live with myself._

_**LEAVE HIM…**_

Suddenly, a stronger voice, one that was much darker than his own, echoed within his mind. Sombra froze. It was another intimate voice; one that shook him to his very core. One that was definitely not his own.

_**TAKE HIS EQUIPMENT AND LEAVE…**_

But that was all it was: a voice.

"What? No…"

_**No… Stop**_**… **The growl was slowly drowned out by his mind focusing on the levitation spell he cast to heft the unconscious unicorn over his back. He was predictably heavy, both in body and from what felt like several plates of armor under his cloak, but he could manage. He froze again, waiting for the dark voice to chastise him. But it didn't come. Shaken, but not deterred, Sombra shifted the stallion on his back and started off again into the snowy wilderness.

The two of them walked for another few hours without incident. It was only after dawn began to break and cover the snowy plains with a soft blue light did a tired, aching Sombra finally see a truly welcoming sight:

A thin grey wisp of smoke floating up into the watery morning sky, just ahead and over a small hill.

_Thank the heavens…_ he thought. His pace quickened.


End file.
